German ECHO Classical Award Winners Announced, To Be Honored October 14

German ECHO Classical Award Winners Announced, To Be Honored October 14

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International stars of the world-wide classical music stage are among the 60 winners in 21 categories of the German ECHO Classic awards that will be awarded on October 14 in the Konzerthaus in Berlin. The German TV station ZDF will broadcast the award show on 10 pm the same day.

Among the winners are the US soprano Renee Fleming as singer of the year, English female trumpet player Alison Balsom and Austrian pianist Rudolf Buchbinder as instrumentalists of the year. Further winners are two Italians -- Riccardo Chailly as conductor of the year and Claudio Abbado for opera of the year. Sir Simon Rattle with the Berlin Philharmonics will receive the award for Symphonic recording of the year and German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter with the New York Philharmonic for the Concert recording of the year. The classic award beyond borders goes to US singer Tori Amos, bass tenor Erwin Schrott from Uruguay and the Pera Ensemble with counter tenor Valer Bamer-Sabadamus from Romania.

70 labels applied with about 340 works by their artists for the ECHO Classic Awards 2012. The basis for qualification is submission of two outstanding press reviews and the CD. Any record label whose recordings are regulary distributed on the German market and who owns the distribution rights for the recordings of the contending artists is eligible to submit a nomination. To apply for the award it was necessary to have released an album between January 1, 2011 and March 31, 2012.

ECHO Classic prizewinners are determined by a judging panel made up of outstanding personalities from politics, the arts and media and the classical wing of the German music industry association.

Dr. Florian Drücke, managing director of the German association of the phonographic industry (BVMI) told Billboard: "The jury did not have an easy job to choose the winners among such a variety of international and national candidates. The result again shows the diversity of the large spectrum of classical productions that are reaching beyond borders."

"Every year the German Phono Academy honors the outstanding and successful performances of national and international artists with this award. The ECHO Classic was launched in 1994 as an event of its own to do justice to the cultural importance of classical music and to further its popularity," said Prof. Dieter Gorny, chairman of the Phono Academy.

A main objective of ECHO Classic is not only to reward world stars for their musical achievements, but also to promote outstanding young talents with the award. ECHO Classic is awarded by a jury who make their choices based on artistic quality as well as popular success. Said Gorny, "The award of the ECHO Classic therefore not only reflects the opinion of critics but also the appreciation of music consumers."

In 2011 the market of classical music had a share of 7.1 % (2010: 7.5 %) of the whole turnover of 1.67 billion euro of the German music market.

Category 20 Music DVD production of the year (Documentation): Canadian Broadcasting Company "Glenn Gould on Television: The Complete CBC Broadcasts 1954-1977" (Sony Classical) Music DVD production of the year (Live Recording): Elmar Kruse "John Neumeier: The Little Mermaid" (C Major) Music DVD production of the year (Opera): Ensemble Theater Lübeck "Richard Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen" (Musicaphon/Klassik Center Kassel)